


Atlas (Or: An Ode to Dean Winchester's Shoulders)

by hunenka



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Internal Monologue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-12 10:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/810430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunenka/pseuds/hunenka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel’s musings on Dean Winchester and the weight he carries on his shoulders. Set vaguely in the second half of Season 4.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atlas (Or: An Ode to Dean Winchester's Shoulders)

 

Castiel appeared behind Dean in the motel bathroom, wisely choosing to remain invisible to the man. He didn’t have anything to say to him after all, he only came here to think. Somehow the mere presence of the Righteous Man helped Castiel sort his thoughts and see things more clearly. It was almost as if Dean had become the angel’s moral compass. Ironic, yet still true.

Dean stood in the shower with his back to the angel, his head tilted back as the spray of water hit his face and body. He stood there, motionless, just letting the water fall over him.

Fascinated, unable to look away, the angel watched the water rivulet down the wide expanse of Dean’s shoulders and back.

Provided with the visuals of Dean’s figure, Castiel had to wonder how the man could look so strong, with those broad, solid shoulders and firm posture, and at the same time so world-weary and almost fragile. It seemed like a contradiction.

But the angel had done his homework on Dean and he knew it was because those shoulders carried so much weight. Too much weight, arguably. Dean went through Hell and he would carry the pain and guilt from there with him forever. Then there was the burden of being the one responsible for the opening of the first seal, which made Dean a crucial, irreplacable part of God’s plan to stop the impending Apocalypse.

That was a lot of responsibility.

On top of that, Dean has been taking care of Sam his whole life, and while John was alive, Dean also took care of his father, too, serving as a key-stone that held the family together. He was a parental figure to his brother when John was away on a hunt – which was most of the time, actually. And when his father came back, tired and weary, consumed with the need for vengeance, Dean was there to ground him, to remind him what was really important.

Castiel also knew that Sam carried a heavy burden of his own. Losing his girlfriend to the same demon that killed his mother, discovering how it was all connected to him. Learning that he had demon blood running through his veins and that he was supposed to be the Boy King who would lead a demon army and destroy the Earth.

But through all this, Sam wasn’t alone. Because on top of carrying his own problems, Dean also carried Sam’s. He was always there for his brother, to protect him, to keep him safe and keep him _sane_ , a steady, ever-present support. A shoulder to lean on.

So in the end, it was Dean who carried the crushing weight of the world.

And carry the weight he did, stubbornly, unwilling to give up, even though sometimes the load was too heavy and brought Dean to his knees, bending him and leaving him bruised and battered. But never beaten.

Somehow Dean always found more strength inside him and stood up straight again. He always found a reason to carry on fighting. Most of the time the reason to keep trying was represented by the people Dean loved. Sometimes it was his pride. Sometimes – and Castiel secretly suspected that this particular reason was becoming more and more important to the man – Dean kept on fighting just to spite the forces of evil – or good, for that matter – that were waiting for him to finally give up.

The lengths to which Dean would go to fight the good fight and to protect his family amazed Castiel. But what amazed the angel even more was the fact that Dean’s spirit, the strength and courage he had, inspired the same qualities in the people around him.

Unconsciously, without even being aware of the trust and respect so many people held for him, Dean was building himself an army of men ready to follow him anywhere he led them. Men who believed in Dean Winchester.

And somehow, not sure when or how it happened, Castiel had become one of them.

 


End file.
